13:34.

It's official. I'm a uni student, an undergrad, a da xue sheng. And pray tell, you ask with amusement and not without some sarcasm, what brought that on after 10 weeks of school and more than three months after leaving the corporate world?

A trip to the school library on a Saturday afternoon. Specifically, this Saturday afternoon, as in like, today, like, you know a few hours ago.

Yesterday, I spent 90 minutes in the library, grabbing more books for the three essays on my plate. When I finally got to the checkout counter, I discovered I couldn't borrow any book while an overdue book I took out for a friend was outstanding. Working with what I could, I, ahem, proceeded to go to a dusty, isolated end of the library to stuff my precious books in some hidden corner so I could retrieve them collectively without repeating the gathering process.

So that was what I was doing in a library on a weekend morning. And somehow, doing it made me feel very, uni-ish (new word! copyright!).

It's strange how good service can add on to one's day. From the grouchy, unsmiling librarian yesterday, I faced a helpful, warm librarian today who went to manually find and check out the overdue book I dropped into the bin five minutes before I appeared at the check-in counter with a pile of 10 books.

It was just small talk, about the music books I was borrowing, whether I could sing, and how those who could not end up writing about songs instead, but it added a ray of sunshine to my day.

There was a solace involved, walking to RMIT on a Sat noon, seeing few students along the way or in the library, and seeing in my journey both to and fro lots of fellow walkers with trolleys and bags for and fro VicMkt. There was a freedom, a sense of liberty of having time, being able to spend my day as I wish to. Deadlines could not spoil the immense still joy inside of me as I simply walked along, hoops earrings, my trusty retro-ish Topshop bag, light blue sports jacket covering a pink (!) peasant blouse totally unlike me but which looked ahem, rather good on me, colourful toe socks and puma sneakers on.

I loved the weather, 13 degrees but pleasant without cold wind.

Somehow, I felt at peace. Peace with myself and the world.

Peace.

While crossing one of the traffic lights on my usual route to school, a thought bounced into my mind and surprised me even as I was and still am unsure of its truth - "I'm falling in love with Melbourne".

Umm....

As I walked back from school, six books in hand and four stuffed in bag, I looked into a reflective window I passed and again, with the same feeling as if the thought jumped me instead of originating from me, I thought, "I really like being a student again."

And Germaine, who also went on a minor sojourn to her school's library at the same time I did, and myself then congregated back home and went out to VicMkt. She got a very nice jacket with a hood and a scarf. Me, I got a scarf and gloves for five bucks each. Darn, I like VicMkt.